In his pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran, President Barack Obama could be “headed down the wrong path,” possibly allowing Iran “to further threaten Middle Eastern stability, jeopardize American interests, or destroy our strongest ally,” Congresswoman Kristi Noem wrote Sunday in an op-ed published in the Black Hills Pioneer. In the op-ed, Noem emphasized the security interests shared by Israel and the United States:

Israel plays a critical role in our efforts to defeat ISIL, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations in the region. Our countries have collaborated on improving stability in the region, worked together to improve behavioral screening techniques at airports, and teamed up on counterterrorism efforts that make each of us a little safer. We also share a common enemy – Iran, a country whose intentions to destroy does not stop at Israel, but extends to the United States. Undoubtedly, Israel is one of our closest allies in a tumultuous region and so their survival is critical to American national security.

Nonetheless, President Obama is pursuing a deal with Iran. Such a deal would put nuclear restrictions on Iran and in exchange, America would lift some or all economic sanctions on the Iranian people. I, along with many in the national security community, am concerned that the administration is headed down the wrong path with these negotiations.

If we are going to make a deal, it needs to be a good deal. In other words, it must be a deal that ensures Iran has absolutely no path to a nuclear weapon. Even no deal would be better than a bad one, as the President’s administration has admitted.

Noem listed five criteria to judge if the emerging deal is a good one, which include requiring Iran to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure; requiring Iran to open up all of its suspected nuclear sites to “anytime, anywhere” inspections; leaving all sanctions in place until Iran is confirmed to be in compliance with its obligations; requiring Iran to own up to its past nuclear work; and lifting restrictions on Iran only after it has altered its behavior and not after an arbitrary amount of time.

The deal, Noem concluded, “must eliminate every nuclear pathway Iran has access to in order to help ensure … that good continues to triumph over evil.”

[Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr ]